Birch Ridge Golf Report

Winding down

Posted: Thursday, September 20, 2007

By Sharon Keating

There are some sure signs that our golf season is winding down. We're wearing extra layers of clothing, scheduling later tee times in the morning and earlier tee times at night. We're spending more time trying to figure out how to best spend those long winter days ... doing more than just counting the days until we can get out our clubs and start all over again. Ahhh ... the wonderful life of the golfer in Alaska.

There are still a few things we can do before the season comes to a screeching halt, though. First of all, we can play as many rounds as possible at Birch Ridge while we still can. That includes the final tournament of the year.

The "Cold Weather Classic," scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 29, is always one of the best of the year. Maybe it's because it's our final time to get together with friends to play some golf, have loads of fun and enjoy the course in all its fall beauty. Maybe it's the great feast that the Cowans put on for us. Maybe it's the Norwegian candles. For all of these reasons and more, call the pro shop at 262-5270 to sign up for a great time. Then bring your partner on out for an anticipated tee time of 11 a.m. (depending on 'frost'). The entry fee is $60 plus the green fee of $25 (Birch Ridge season ticket holders are exempt from the green fee). The format is a man/woman, "Scotch Twosome." Four teams will be awarded prizes: First and second place low scratch and first and second place low net. We'll get all wound up, play a great round of golf and then have fun winding down afterwards. Ahhh ... the wonderful life of the golfer at Birch Ridge.

Attention all Birch Ridge Golf Association members ... we need you! We would love to have more of our members participate to help make our association the best it can be. We will be voting in new board members at our annual meeting in October and are looking for those who might be interested in serving on the board and help make the decisions that affect us all. We are also looking for members who would like to help with any of the tournaments and events that the association sponsors. Maybe you have some ideas on how our association can operate better. Before I get too wound up on this subject, let me just ask that you call President Judy Keck-Walsh or any of your other board members to let us know your desire to help your association in any way that you can.

The Birch Ridge Ladies Cup year-end banquet is this Friday at Mykels Restaurant. Cocktail hour is from 6 to 7 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m. This is always a fun evening for the ladies.

Not all of our golfers are ready to put their clubs away yet. On Monday, 17 seniors came out to make the most of what time is left of the season. Steve Hammarstrom posted the low net of 29, Don McGhee made the longest putt and Gary Effenbeck was closest to the hole on No. 6. Hole No. 8 is a carryover until next week ... those seniors are the ultimate optimists, aren't they?

And what can I say about the four couples who played Tuesday night? Crazy, maybe? Or maybe they are the really smart ones, knowing that there's really nothing quite like the Tuesday Night Couples League. So, in spite of the rain and cool temperature, eight golfers came out to see what John and Jane Tongen had in store for them.

Of course, the Tongens didn't disappoint. They came up with a four-person, Florida-scramble format. Each person teed off, they picked the best drive and the remaining three players made the next shot. The best ball was picked again and the remaining two golfers played the third shot. The best of the two was picked and the remaining golfer hit the next shot, hopefully into the hole. If not, they started over with all four, then three and so on until the ball went into the hole. Sounds like a lot of fun.

With only two teams playing, everyone was a winner. But the team of Jerry and Kathy Herring and Steve and Sally Tachick took first place. The second-place team was Dan and Linda Murphy and George and Sue Stein. I'm sure everyone was able to dry off, warm up and wind down in the clubhouse afterward. Sorry we missed it.

SHARON'S THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: "Sure, we're winding down the season and before we know it, winter will be here and that makes me sad. But I plan on making the most of my time off from playing golf this winter. I'll pick up one of those 'how to' books to make my golf game even better next year. Like, how to line up my fourth putt, or how to relax when I'm hitting my fifth shot off the tee. Maybe I will learn how to hit a Titleist out of the rough after I've hit a Precept from the tee. Oh, wait, I've done that before and it cost me two strokes! What I really need to work on is how to handle crying over my bad shots, 'cause I hate it when my mascara runs. OK, I'm getting all wound up again ... time to hit the 19th hole ... and remind myself why I love to play golf!"